


Feverish

by yinyangswings



Series: This Shit is Weird: The Ayden Trevelyan Story [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Foods a culture right?, M/M, Sick Character, Sickfic, Tevinter Culture and Customs, Tevinter Imperium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12101103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yinyangswings/pseuds/yinyangswings
Summary: Dorian is struck by a fever and a cold, and the best thing for him? Some good ole Tevinter food...it can't be too hard to find....Right?





	Feverish

**Author's Note:**

> So here is what [Ayden Trevelyan](http://68.media.tumblr.com/3d5c03a56d6383e17a78d89bf634cdf4/tumblr_ovdbu9bpEU1rvaltqo1_1280.png) looks like

Reading was growing to be an impossible task, Dorian realized sluggishly as he found himself reading the same sentence for the fifth time. Sighing, he placed the book, down, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to sway the haze that was clouding his mind, but it seemed to do little.

He didn’t even sense Ayden until a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and the younger man kissed his cheek.

“Hard at work?” Ayden teased, and Dorian shifted, sighing slightly and chuckling, instantly regretting it as it felt like a gong inside his head. Ayden cocked his head to the side.

“Have you been here since last night? We didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“Ah yes, had a question I needed to answer. And so sorry, but wasn’t really feeling in the mood for what Southern Thedas calls breakfast…”

“I know you don’t prefer oatmeal, but surely you were taught by your nannies as they engrained your family tree into your head that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He explained with a smirk, but his expression sobered he observed the altus.

“Dorian, are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine. I just had plenty of theories that needed to be finished-”

He nearly groaned in delight as Ayden’s hands cupped his face, the chill of his fingers, something he _normally_ complained about, being a welcome, staving off the heat and clearing his headache for a moment. He noted his frown had grown though.

“You are…incredibly hot.”

“Why thank you...Amatus, say something I...don’t know…” Dorian forced out, but didn’t earn a laugh, or at least he didn’t think Ayden laughed. His head felt like it was wrapped in cotton.

“No, Dorian...you’re burning up.” Ayden replied, pressing a hand to the altus’s forehead. Dorian fought back the urge to groan again at the welcome change, and Ayden’s frown deepened.  
“How long have you had this fever?”

“A fever?” He asked. “Come now Amatus, I don’t get fevers. Your hands-”

“Yes my hands are cold, but Maker’s breath, they aren’t that cold.” He interrupted, concern etched into his voice as he leaned towards him. “Why didn’t you tell any of us that you weren’t feeling well?”

He tried to say something, anything to sway his doubts, but the moment he opened his mouth, the floor seemed to sway and his vision darkened and the last thing he heard was his shout of alarm before sweet darkness took him in.

* * *

This wasn’t his bed.

He was sure of it, because when he shifted it didn’t creak and groan, there wasn’t a draft that made him shiver violently, and the blankets he had grown used to weren’t this soft. And there wasn’t usually hands pressed softly to his forehead, placing a wet cloth over it.

“Your fever has gone down a bit, but it’s still high.”

His eyes fluttered open a bit, and he stared at Ayden’s expression, which was calm. He gave him a gentle smile.

“Honestly Love...you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Did I?” He croaked and Ayden chuckled.

“Yes, you dolt. You collapsed on me and passed out. How could I not be surprised?”

“You’ll have to forgive me.” Dorian muttered, looking around and frowned. “How did you get me here?”

“I carried you.”

Dorian felt his heart swell achingly in his throat, at the same time as panic squirming around in his belly. Ayden had carried him to his room...the room whose entrance was in the main hall. As though sensing Dorian’s panic, Ayden pressed his hand lightly to Dorian’s cheek.

“I had Leliana and Josephine create a distraction long enough for me to sneak you in here.” Ayden said softly, and Dorian couldn’t be sure if it was fever or something else as an expression passed over Ayden’s face for a brief moment. 

“…I see.” He grumbled, squirming as though to get up. The rogue stopped him.

“Dorian, you passed out because you pushed yourself too much. You’re staying here than in your room until you recover.”

“I can’t-”

“You are on bed duty to get rid of that fever.” He replied with a smirk. “Healer’s orders, Serah Pavus. Or would you rather it be under Inquisitor’s orders?” He sighed, and settled back.

“May I ask why you chose your bedroom?” He grumbled.

“Barring the fact that your room carries a draft like no tomorrow, I knew that if you woke up and I wasn’t there, you’d drag yourself back to the library and be doing work even if anyone told you otherwise.”

He swallowed, but didn’t reject the hand that gently cupped his cheek, sighing as Ayden continued brushing his thumb against his cheekbone.

“Have to say it’s a nice switch where I can take care of you and not the other way.” He murmured and he would have rolled his eyes if a sudden tiredness didn’t overcome him. He must have sensed it, smiling as she settled next to him in a chair, smoothing out the lines on his forehead. “Rest Dorian, I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

Dorian’s sleep was fitful at best.

It was an ordinary cold, the healers told him. He’d have to push through it on his own...but still, Ayden couldn’t help but worry. He threw another log into the fire, watching as the orange blaze grew for a moment as it engulfed the log, frowning when Dorian coughed, groaning meekly. It was rather ironic.Rather than what Bull had joked about, that Dorian would probably be worse sick, Dorian was pretty much a dead-weight. The only thing he complained about was eating, said that the Ferelden food tasted worse, and Orlesian food he knew for a fact would be too much for an upset stomach. 

He frowned. 

Perhaps a Tevinter meal?

He inwardly sighed, before standing and, after checking on Dorian for a moment. He’d head over to the library. There should be a Tevinter recipe book there.

How hard could it be?

* * *

Apparently very hard.

There was literally nothing. Dorian’s complaint about having very little Tevinter literature in the library hadn’t been just a mere attempt to curb frustration at him after the events at Adamant. There was very little information on Tevinter culture. He supposed he’d have to change that eventually but now out of ideas, he had one last shot...but that required swallowing his pride. However, the thought of Dorian curled up in his room was enough to do just that. Which was why he was now in front of Gereon Alexius’s small room, staring at the man who was at a small desk that was covered in papers. The ex-Magister glanced up and scoffed, returning to his book, flipping the page.

“Ah the Inquisitor...have you finally come here to gloat? I’d suggest to make yourself at home, however my room, if I can even call it that, is not made for more than one person.” Alexius muttered, not even pausing from his reading.

“Do you know any Tevinter foods that Dorian likes that’s mild in taste?”

Alexius paused at the non-sequitur, looking up and staring Ayden as the younger man leaned against the wall next to the door. His eyes narrowed.

“Why would you want to know that?”

“Dorian’s sick. Got himself a pretty nasty fever and I’m trying to make him feel better.”

“And you would trust me to not try and trick you? Rather naïve of you…”

“I don’t trust you...not in that degree, but we don’t have any books on Tevinter food in our library...and you’re from Tevinter and at least some point in your life cared about Dorian to some extent.” Ayden replied coolly. 

Alexius was quiet, and Ayden sighed.

“Never mind...I’ll go see if I can find-”

“Haleem.”

Ayden paused, looking back.

“It’s a Tevinter recipe that even a Southerner can figure out. Wheat, barley, lentils, and meat.” Alexius replied placing the book away, writing the recipe down. “It’s soup, so it should work for him, provided he actually listens to you and rests.”

“...thank you.” Ayden muttered and Alexius offered a slight grunt of recognition, and Ayden turned around and shut the door. Alexius was quiet for a moment.

“...he never changes, does he?” He finally muttered with a light chuckle, flipping the page once again.

* * *

His head felt like Bull, Sera, and Blackwall had sat on it, that one morning in Minrathous after a lovely night of drinking, or a combination of the two. He didn’t know what was worse. Honestly, being sick was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him at that point. Wearily, he curled up further in the blankets, flinching as the squeak of the door sounded, echoing like a gong in his head.

“Kaffas…”

“Ah, you’re awake.”

Dorian peeked his head out of the blankets, spotting Ayden coming up, setting a tray down next to him on the nightstand. He then turned and pressed a hand lightly to Dorian’s head and smiled.

“Well good news is, your fever is getting better.”

“Wonderful.” Dorian groused tiredly, sitting up, and rubbing his head. “Now if only this blasted headache would go.”

“The healers said the headaches all part of the cold, unfortunately. Oh and, also the healers said you should have some food, which I have brought for you.”

“Ugh...Amatus, if you force me to eat any of that Ferelden slop, I really WILL vomit.”

“Well good news is that it isn’t Ferelden...at least not in recipe.” Ayden replied, “thankfully, the Haleem recipe is pretty simple.” Ayden added, his grin growing at Dorian’s expression. “What?”

“You...made Haleem?”

“As close as I could get it. Had Sera taste it and she seemed to enjoy it. Then I had Josephine try it to make sure Sera wasn’t shitting me, but she said it tasted fine.” Ayden shrugged lightly. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“...how did you get the recipe?”

“Well a mixture of two things. One, the cook actually did know this recipe but by a different name, go figure, and well...I asked Alexius.” He explained after a moment and Dorian glanced at him. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Amatus…”

“Eat, Dorian.” Ayden ordered lightly, chuckling under his breath as Dorian’s cheek grew a deeper shade of red, though this time he was sure he wasn’t flushing due to fever. He collected some paperwork, sitting next to Dorian and reading the reports as the altus ate the soup with little complaint. In a testament of how unwell he must have felt, Dorian didn’t utter much argument after he placed the bowl back on the nightstand and curled up back under the covers, one arm wrapping over Ayden’s waist. Ayden looked down and smiled as Dorian sniffed, squishing closer to Ayden, hiding his face in Ayden’s side.

It was just because he wasn’t feeling well that he was being this syrupy, Dorian decided in a daze as he felt Ayden shift to lean a bit more comfortably in the bed. And if the Inquisitor decided to begin running his fingers gently through his hair, all the better, Dorian decided as his eyes grew heavy and with the scent of the spices from Haleem still in the air and Ayden’s ministrations easing the headache just so, he drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> You know it's surprisingly difficult to find some type of soup that I think would fit Tevinter.


End file.
